Not an Ordinary Artist: A Polish Immigrant's Challenging and Enduring Story

Artist Florian Durzynski immigrates alone from Poland in 1929 and ends up in West Town, part of Chicago's Polish community of 450,000 people. He establishes himself as a portrait painter but then finds artistic opportunity in a form of art he had never considered. Although he succeeds in his artistic endeavors, he has an impediment that makes him ask, "Why me?" and a recurring feeling of loneliness that makes him ask, "Who am I?" and "Where do I belong?"